Realization
by carodajka
Summary: [IchigoxRukia]Orihime notices something's going on between them. So she comes up with a plan. My first fanfic ever...may be OOC
1. Orihime

"Hey, Rukia! Can I talk to you for a minute?"

Rukia stopped and turned around to see Orihime running towards her. They were returning to class after lunch break.

"Hi, Orihime. How are you today?"

"I'm fine, thanks. I have something important to tell you. Can you meet me after school at the playground?"

"Can't you tell me now?" said surprised Rukia.

"No, please, wait until the school is over. It's important. " Orihime insisted with a strange grin.

'What can be that important she can't tell me now... ? ' thought Rukia but answered: "Ok, I'll be there."

'Great! Objective 1 – cleared.' " Thank you" Orihime smiled at Rukia and run to the class. 'Now for Ichigo...'

It's been few weeks since Orihime started noticing that there was something going on between Ichigo and Rukia. Even before they were together a lot and often left somewhere together in the middle of school for no apparent reasons, but when the rumors started that they were going out, they just laughed and made up some excuses. Orihime found out later about Hollows and Shinigamis and she stopped wondering what's going on. They were never acting like more than friends anyway.

However, when they returned from Soul Society after saving Rukia, letting her behind, Ichigo started acting strangely. He was suddenly spacing out from time to time and fought Hollows with much less enthusiasm than before. A when Rukia finally returned...

_They were all walking home from school when Ichigo told them:_

"_I've got a message from Urahara. He wants to meet us tonight at his shop."_

_So they went and there was a surprise waiting for them..._

"_Rukia!"_

_Everybody was happy to see her; Orihime hugged her, Sado and Ishida too after a little hesitation but Ichigo... He was just standing there, unreadable expression on his face. Finally, after greeting with everyone, she turned to him._

_Neither one of the two didn't move, they were just staring at each other for a few seconds. _

"_Ichigo...", she nearly whispered._

_At the sound of her voice he woke up from his frozen state and smirked._

"_Got bored back there ?", he asked._

_She also returned to normal._

"_No, I just figured out that without my guidance you could get easily killed, or make a big mess like you did in Soul Society."_

"_Stupid, I went there to save your ass and you still didn't even thank me!"_

"_I told you not to come but you didn't listen. I'm not going to thank you for not listening to me, idiot!"_

"_There's no way I'm going to listen to you, you little brat...!..."_

_And they went on and on like back in the old times..._

This time Rukia didn't move to Ichigo's house but stayed at the shop. She also continued to go to the school. And it was during classes when Orihime confirmed here suspicions. They were acting normally when surrounded by others, but it were the little things that betrayed them: Ichigo would stare at Rukia whenever she wasn't looking and _vice versa_; when they coincidently touched they both turned red; they got into quarrels and fights more often but were much more caring for each other when one of them got hurt...

Actually there was an accident two days ago. Rukia got hit pretty badly by a big hollow and lost consciousness. Orihime started to treat her immediately when she suddenly felt this immense spirit force coming from Ichigo. He was literally white from anger and dispersed the monster to million little pieces.

When Rukia woke up, he just scolded her for being too reckless.

But despite all of this it seemed that neither one of them didn't realized the other one's feeling.

So Orihime came up with a plan. 'I will be their Angel of Love, yay!' she giggled at the thought.

'Why did she call me here? And why is she late?' Rukia started to be impatient. Suddenly she heard steps of someone approaching.

"Hi, Kuchiki-san. What are you doing here ?" She turned around. It was Ishida.

"I'm waiting for Orihime. She told me to meet her after school here, but she's late."

"Hm, that's strange because I heard her today talking to Ichigo and she was asking him to come to the back entrance after school."

'What?' Rukia was startled. 'Maybe she forgot... but she was so insistent about meeting me'

"Well, I guess I will go there then and see what's going on. Thank you, Ishida-kun. See ya." With that Rukia left.

__

" So what's the big deal, Inoue? Why did you call me here?" Ichigo was looking at the girl, waiting.

"Uh, well... I... " _'Go on, Orihime, it's for the sake of their love!'_ "I... I think ... I like you!" Orihime swallowed hard awaiting the orange-haired boy's reaction.

Ichigo froze in a shock. _'What the hell...!'_

"Could you please tell me, how you feel about me, Ichigo-kun ?" _'Now I hope I wasn't wrong...'_

Ichigo still stared at her, not knowing what to think..._'How do I feel? I never thought about Inoue that way... Sure she's pretty and I know her well... (..._but_... said his inner voice)'_ He looked her in the eyes, trying to figure out what to do, what to say, to sort his feelings towards her... _' and we've been through a lot together, she's always so helpful and nice (..._but_!...) '_ He moved his arms and placed them on her shoulders...

'_Oh no, was I wrong after all ...?'_ Orihime was startled by his unexpected proximity as he leaned forward.

'_I'm not sure if I love her, however maybe I would fall for her if I give it a try, and I don't want to hurt her feeling either ... (..._BUT_!...)' _

He slowly closed his eyes and moved even closer intending to kiss her. Suddenly he saw a picture of Rukia smiling and calling him in his mind and he felt his heart skip a beat upon a realization. _'I don't want to kiss Inoue! Because ...because...'_

He opened his eyes swiftly and let go of Orihime. He turned away from her.

"Uh, I am sorry, Inoue. I don't feel the same about you."

Orihime felt so relieved she nearly collapsed. _'Uff, that was close ... '_

"I am really sorry, but you see... I... maybe... I think..." He sighed. "However, I didn't mean to hurt you, that's all." Ichigo thought she was collapsing because of him. "Are you ok?"

"Uhn, I'm fine." she nodded. "Just tell me, is there someone else you like then?" _'Say it, just say it Ichigo...'_

'_Is there someone?'_ and then again he saw Rukia, hearing her voice calling his name.

Feeling guilty about him trying to kiss her, he gave a hesitant answer. "I'm not sure. I just..."

He looked so completely lost; Orihime couldn't stand it any longer. "It's Kuchiki-san you like, right?"

"What? No! No... no... you've got it all wrong. I couldn't possibly..." _'Or could I ?'_

Orihime smiled gently and I looked him in the eyes " Stop lying to yourself. You're both so funny. Everyone around you noticed but you didn't. I am sure you love her and that she loves you back. Actually I only confessed to you today so you could finally realize your feelings towards her."

'_She did this so I could realize my feelings toward Rukia ? By trying to make me go out with her? Eh? A bit twisted logic I would say...although it did work, didn't it? Now I know I can't be with Inoue because... the only person I want to be with is...'_

"Sorry for lying to you, Ichigo-kun. But now you know how you feel and you should tell Kuchiki-san that you love her."

"I told her to meet me at the playground. She's waiting there, go!"

Still a bit confused he looked at Orihime then turned around and started to walk towards the playground. _'I should tell her that I like her.'_ He quickened his pace. _'...that I love her...' _He was already running. _'I LOVE her'. _He could already see the corner of the playground. _'I love Rukia...' _He finally got to the playground, stopped and catching hic breath he looked around. There was a couple sitting under the tree, talking; small kids playing in the sand, a few students returning from school. But no Rukia.

'_Where is she ?'_

'_Ichigo and Orihime... she said she liked him and he ... he was going to kiss her ... and so I run away just to give them a little privacy, right? I'm OK with Ichigo dating Orihime, they will look good together. She already knows he's a shinigami so there won't be any misunderstandings... and she can even help him with his fights'_ Rukia was slowly walking down the street after being secretly present to their conversation._ 'Sure it was a little bit unexpected, but there's no reason I should feel ... how? Sad? Lonely? Betrayed? No, why should I ? It's not like if I loved Ichigo or didn't want him to be happy.'_ She started trembling and stopped._'I'm completely FINE with this situation. But then ...'_

'_Why am I crying? And what is it with this pain in my chest?' _


	2. Renji

Disclaimer: I don't own _Bleach_.

xxxXXXxxx

After an hour wandering through the streets, Rukia finally managed to calm down a little bit. The memory of Ichigo and Orihime kissing still haunted her but wasn't as painful as before.

'_Guess my feelings for you are a little more then I thought, right, Ichigo?'_ She sighted and lowered her head.

Without paying attention to the road ahead she stepped of the sidewalk to cross the street. Suddenly there was a loud sound of squealing tires and people shouting. Rukia only had time to catch a sight of a car dashing towards her and the time stood still for a second.

A pair of arms grabbing her waist returned her to reality as she was tossed away from the car's track. She landed heavily, still quite shocked.

"Are you alright?"

The voice sounded familiar. She turned her head towards the speaker.

"Renji..."

"What the HELL are you doing! Trying to kill yourself?" After two hours running around and looking for her, here he found her nearly getting hit by a car. It was pure coincidence that he was there to save her. Still he was wondering how come she didn't see the car in time and didn't avoid it. She was a shinigami, after all.

Not her usual self, Rukia just sighted and said in a low voice:

"I'm sorry."

Most of the anger he felt was replaced with worry and mild curiosity at her strange behavior.

"Are you ok?" he asked but she didn't seem to notice. To get her attention or rather to release a bit of his anger, he whapped her on the head. Not so gently.

That worked.

"Hey, what was that for?" she shouted and kicked him, catching him off guard.

'_God dammit! Why did I save her?'_ he bent down and massaged the sore place.

There wasn't even a slightest piece of guilt in her eyes as she continued to look at him and she asked:

"What are you actually doing here, Renji?" With all the mess after Aizen's betrayal she would have thought that Soul Society would need al of it's lieutenants and captains taking care of ... things and stuff like training and planning what to do and such.

"Kuchiki-taichou asked me to come and check on you. He was worried and his absence would be more undesirable then mine."

Rukia's eyes blinked with surprise and another unknown emotion. She seemed taken aback.

"Onii-sama..."

It was true that the captain had _asked_ him _directly_ to check on her, however, knowing him for quite a while now, Renji could see he cared and was worried for his 'little' step sister indeed. So he asked for permission which was granted without further questions. And this small lie seemed to have a grateful effect on his friend.

"So. Will you explain to me what happened? It's not like you to space out in the middle of the street and get hit by a car."

"Ah. It's nothing. I'd rather not talk about it right now. But don't worry I'm already fine as you can see." She gave him a little smile although couldn't hide the sad eyes from him.

Renji didn't want to push her into replying - no wanting to irritate his best friend. Instead he suggested:

"Ok. So why don't we go someplace warm and get something to drink and talk about old times? We haven't talked in longtime..."

It was already getting dark and remarkably colder and Rukia shivered. '_Going someplace where's warmer would be nice'_

"Let's go."

xxxXXXxxx

They found a little cozy cafe bar just few blocks ahead. Right after they got there, Rukia ordered sake for both and was currently at her fifth bottle. Renji stopped at his third and his curiosity and worries have by now reached a very high level.

'_I really wonder what happened. One more bottle and I'll ask again... unless she won't be unconscious by then.'_

They talked about old friends at Rokungai, about academy and about current situation. With higher amount of alcohol the smaller shinigami was less and less talkative until it was only Renji talking. After almost 15 minutes without any reaction he sighted and gave up.

"Rukia. Tell me what it is. I'm your friend."

Rukia fidgeted and averted her gaze from the window to Renji. She stared at him emotionless and then gave him a half-drunken smile.

"Yeah, a friend. That's what I need right now. Thanks Renji for caring." Her eyes seemed a bit watery.

Renji smirked.

"You give an impression like you don't have any friends here. What about Ichigo and..."

The redhead didn't fail to notice Rukia's twitch at the mention of the name and that caught his attention.

"Rukia? Is something wrong with Ichigo? Don't you two get along?"

Rukia growled.

"Nothing's wrong with that moron. And we get along just fine."

'_Right. Like I believe you..._' The change in her tone was obvious – from slightly apathic to angry and irritated.

"Where is he, by the way? I thought I would find you two together. You seemed pretty close..."

Rukia gave him a bitter laughter and finished her drink.

"I don't care about his whereabouts. He's probably with Orihime."

"Orihime? That's the long-haired chick? Quite pretty with large... ehm... physic qualities?"

Another twitch. And her voice lowered.

"Yeah, that's her. Apparently you're not the only one appreciating her _physic qualities."_

A bit o jealousy was now recognizable in her voice which seemed weird to Renji as he knew Rukia didn't give a damn about looks or physical appearance.

"They're going out." The phrase wasn't louder than a whisper. Rukia's gaze was locked on her cup; she was playing with it – stroking it with thumbs and moving it around.

Surprise made Renji forgot for a moment about her strange behavior.

"They're going out! Haha ... That bastard's got a girlfriend? Now that's unexpected, he doesn't seem like a guy who's into dating and stuff. Also, I would have thought that if he'll be dating someone it would be you, as I said, you seem pretty cl-"

The rest of the sentence was interrupted by sound o breaking glass. The cup in Rukia's hand was shattered and she was bleeding a little. She looked at her palms, then at Renji and then on her palms again. Confusion in her eyes changed to weariness. She clenched her fists and sighted. Neither one o them commented what happened.

"I'm tired. I'm going home." She rose from her chair and immediately tripped as the effect of the sake manifested themselves. She would have fallen if not for her friend.

"Oi, oi. You've got enough for today. I'll accompany you to the shop."_ 'Kuchiki-taichou would chop my head off if I let you wander like this alone. And at least I'm finally getting a picture what's wrong.'_

He paid for their drinks, excused for the broken cup and left with arms wrapped around Rukia's shoulder.

xxxXXXxxx

Ichigo was beginning to panic. He was running around the city for almost five hours now and there was no sign of Rukia whatsoever. Moreover, nobody has seen her after the school either. He stopped by the shop an hour ago, but she still hasn't been there. Urahara told him to calm down and that she can take care of herself.

'_Take care, heh? I know she's not powerless and she's pretty strong, but what if...'_ And these _what if_s were driving him crazy.

All he now wanted was to see her, know she's safe and preferably in his arms.

Few meters ahead his wish came true. Partially.

He saw her and she seemed to be safe, with a small smile playing on her lips. And she was definitely in somebody's arms. But not his.

With great relief came also a sharp sting in his chest as he watched the scene in front of him.

Their voices were merely louder than whisper so he couldn't say what they were talking about. He watched as Rukia's hand reached to cup Renji's cheek (for Ichigo now knew it was the red-haired shinigami who held her). He clenched his fists as the other man tightened his grip and she leaned closer.

'_What the hell is HE doing here? And what is he doing with (my) Rukia!'_ Somewhat mad and puzzled he stepped forward until the two noticed him. Rukia's smile disappeared and her look turned colder. _'I can't face him now, not yet.' _She turned away and hoped Renji will get the hint. He did.

"Yo, Ichigo. Sorry, I don't have time to talk to you right now; I'm taking Rukia back to Soul Society. "At this words Ichigo stopped dead in his tracks. _'What!'_

"Rukia?" Confusion was clearly present in his voice.

She didn't turn to him as she spoke up.

"I asked him to take me. I need to sort some things up."

"But..."

"Leave it Ichigo." She turned to her companion. "Renji, can you...?"

The red-headed shinigami nodded and opened the gate.

As they both stepped in they heard Ichigo's angry voice behind them.

"Oi, wait, you can't-"

He was once again stopped this time by Renji as he scowled at him.

"You heard what she said." And without any further words they disappeared in the light.

'_I didn't even get tell her. And now she's gone. And this time I'm not supposed to follow... What will I do?'_

As he was staring at the place where she stood just few moments ago he realized she didn't say anything about when she'll be back. Or if she _will_ come back.

And he knew he desperately wanted... needed to know what happened, why did she so suddenly decided to go back.

'_I hope Urahara or Yoruichi would know something.'_

Lost in his thought he then walked away.

xxxXXXxxx

**AN**: Sorry for not updating sooner, actually I wrote this piece of story month ago but wasn't too content (I changed the ending like 10 times and it still isn't what I wanted, however it should suffice)

Hope you like it, and thanks for reviews :)))))

And another sorry for my English though I think it's at least readable.


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